Microsoft's mass appeal makes it a far stronger brand than Apple

Microsoft's "One Microsoft" brand is proving more popular than Apple with the US public. A survey by Forrester Research tested the brand strength of ten top technology firms including Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, and Sony. The results, which found Microsoft coming out on top ahead of Apple and Sony, surprised even those carrying out the survey.

Forrester analyst Tracy Stokes said "Time was definitely a factor. I think the results would have been much different a year or 18 months earlier." But she also explained that Microsoft has become so ubiquitous that it is more of a household name than many of the others.

But Microsoft scored very highly when rated in terms of "essentiality" and trust. Microsoft is seen as being an essential part of life these days -- how many people could live without Office and "Windows ?! -- and the research also found that the company received a very high trust rating from people in of all ages.

Apple holds different place in people's hearts. While Microsoft may be seen as producing essential products, Apple is regarded as producing the must-have ones. "Microsoft has a utilitarian essentiality, not the kind of emotional essentiality that Apple relies on."

Another factor in Microsoft dominance is the fact that the company manages to appeal to such a broad age range. High rating were received in every category from every age group.

Stokes said that it is too early to tell whether the "One Microsoft" is a success -- but perhaps the results speak for themselves. What do you think?